Canadian hip hop icon Classified comes to America

Atlantic Records has announced the US release of “CLASSIFIED,” the acclaimed new album from Nova Scotia-based rapper/producer Classified. The self-titled collection arrives via Atlantic / Halflife Records on Tuesday, September 30th.

“CLASSIFIED” is highlighted by such hit singles as gold certified “Higher (Feat. B.o.B), the platinum certified “3 Foot Tall,” and the blockbuster “Inner Ninja (Feat. David Myles).” The latter track proved a phenomenon in Classified’s home country, reaching the top 5 on Billboard’s “Canadian Hot 100” while earning 5x platinum certification and the Juno Award for “Rap Recording of the Year.” The “Inner Ninja” companion video also proved a pop favorite, with individual views now well in excess of 2 million at Classified’s official YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/classifiedmusic. Furthermore, the MuchMusic Countdown-topping clip went on to receive both “Video of the Year” and “MuchFACT Video of the Year” at the 2013 MuchMusic Video Awards.

Fueled by the breakout success of “Inner Ninja,” “CLASSIFIED” exploded to the top of the Canadian Albums Chart upon its initial release earlier last year, marking the first #1 album of Classified’s career thus far. The album is certified gold with over 700k singles and 50k albums sold. Recorded in his own home studio, the album sees Classified crafting a complex musical landscape alight with brass, gospel, and orchestral arrangements. Tracks like “Growing Pains” and “Anything Goes (Feat. Saukrates & Skratch Bastid)” further reveal the MC/producer’s knack for extraordinary word play and frank lyrical exploration.

Classified and Halflife Records first arrived on the scene in 1995 and quickly ascended to the upper ranks of Canadian hip hop. A prolific and provocative MC, he earned critical praise and widespread popular success, not to mention an array of top honors, including three additional MuchMusic Video Awards and four prestigious Juno Awards nominations.